The present invention pertains to a device and methods for providing a locally sterile environment at the place of a surgical incision into a living body.
Historically, the primary danger attendant to surgical procedures is that of sepsis due to intrusion of microbes into the location where the natural defenses of the body have been breeched by incision. Therefore, extraordinary care is taken to ensure the sterility of the operating environment to the greatest degree achievable. In addition to the sterilization of surgical instruments and the hands and clothing of the surgical team, surgical drapes are employed to provide barriers between the immediate surgical environment and the general operating theater. Additionally, the creation of a barrier zone of filtered air in laminar flow across the surgical area is known in the art, as is the use of a suction tube to remove smoke that may be generated at the site of electrocautery surgery. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,719 describes the use of a film sheet in adhesive contact with the skin of the patient at the site of a surgical incision so as to seal a sterilized atmosphere between the film and the body of the patient. The described methods, however, do not actively expel potentially septic materials from the actual site of the incision. It is thus advantageous that a method be provided for actively repelling microbes and other contamination from the immediate vicinity of the incision.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for excluding infectious agents from a site of an incision into the tissue of a patient. The method has the steps of filtering air in a vicinity of the patient by passage of the air through an ionizing filter, such that any infectious agents in the air are electrically charged with a specified polarity, and creating a region surrounding the site of the incision characterized by an electrostatic charge of the same specified polarity as the infectious agents such that the infectious agents are repelled from the site of the incision. In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, a method is provided for excluding infectious agents from the site of an incision by creating a pressure field of air having a gradient along at least one path, each path running from a first zone including the incision to a second zone proximate to the first zone, so that air flows from the incision to the second zone.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shield system for excluding infectious agents from a site of an incision through skin of a patient. The shield system has a shield with three layers: a substantially electrically insulating adhesive layer of material for adhesion to the skin of the patient, an electrically conductive layer exterior to the adhesive layer for maintaining an electrostatic charge of a specified polarity on the shield, and an electrically insulating external layer for preventing dissipation of the electrostatic charge. The shield system also has an ionizing air filter for charging any infectious agents with an electrical charge of the same specified polarity as the electrostatic charge of the shield such that any infectious agents are repelled from the site of the incision.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a shield system for excluding infectious agents from a site of an incision through skin of a patient. The shield system, in accordance with this embodiment, has an exterior layer having a thickness and a network of pores, each pore traversing the thickness of the exterior layer, a plenum coupled to each pore of the exterior layer, an adhesive layer of material coupled to the plenum for adhesion to the skin of the patient, and a source of gas coupled to the plenum for pressurizing each pore with respect to an ambient air pressure so as to cause a flow of gas in a direction away from the site of the incision.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positive-ventilated glove for covering the hand of a surgeon. The glove has an exterior layer having a thickness and a network of pores, each pore traversing the thickness of the exterior layer, a plenum coupled to each pore of the exterior layer, an interior layer of material coupled to the plenum conforming to the hand of the surgeon, and a source of gas coupled to the plenum for pressurizing each pore with respect to an ambient air pressure so as to cause a flow of gas in a direction away from the hand of the surgeon. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, there is provided an electrostatic glove for use by surgical personnel. The glove has a substantially electrically insulating layer of material disposed in contact with the skin of the surgical personnel, an electrically conductive layer exterior to the substantially electrically insulating layer for maintaining an electrostatic charge of a specified polarity on the glove, and an electrically insulating external layer for preventing dissipation of the electrostatic charge such that any infectious agents with an electrical charge of the same specified polarity as the electrostatic charge of the glove are repelled by the glove.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a shield system for excluding infectious agents from a site of an incision through skin of a patient. The shield system has an exterior layer having a thickness and a network of pores, each pore traversing the thickness of the exterior layer, and a plenum coupled to each pore of the exterior layer. The shield system also has a source of gas coupled to the plenum for pressurizing each pore with respect to an ambient air pressure so as to cause a flow of gas in a direction away from the site of the incision, a network of channels disposed substantially in a plane parallel to the skin of the patient for withdrawing air from the site of the incision, and an adhesive layer of material coupled to the plenum and the network of channels for adhesion to the skin of the patient.